He progressed to become assistant deputy director-general, where he was involved in planning domestic and international telecommunications, and was a policy adviser for the development of Australian broadcasting and television services.
In 1968, he was appointed by the ITU Administrative Council to be deputy secretary-general ad interim, and was elected to the post by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.
The conference also set up an Independent International Commission for World-Wide Telecommunications Development, chaired by Sir Donald Maitland, which in 1985 produced a highly influential report, The Missing Link, that found that two-third's of the world's population had no access to telephone services and set a goal for bringing all of humankind within easy reach of telecommunications and its benefits by the early part of the 21st century.
On his retirement, John J O'Neill, a US representative on the ITU's Administrative Council wrote, "the international telecommunications community must insist on (Butler's) continued participation as an elder statesman.
[1] In a statement of condolences to his friends and family, the Australian communications minister Stephen Conroy said, "Dick helped shape the telecommunications industry we know today.